The Capitol's Psychic
by CrazyCatLady101
Summary: What if Annie Cresta wasn't insane, she was Psychic? After she became a Victor by accident & saw her district partner die, she went insane. Only, the Capitol turned her into a Psychic using a secret formula that turns insanity into Psychic abilities. Annie seems insane but Finnick, mentor and secret lover, knows her secret. Maybe Annie can save all of Panem & Finnick's life too.
1. Chapter 1 Prologue - Wishes I Remember

**This is my first FanFiction, so don't be too harsh!**

**I'd love to hear your reviews, but please, be kind!**

**Please enjoy.**

**Love and Cats! :)**

**Disclaimer: Annie, Finnick, the Hunger Games and anything you recognise belongs to Suzanne Collins. All the rest is mine.**

Prologue – Wishes I Remember

The first time I spoke to Finnick I was eleven, and helping my brother, Marcin, carry his share of the week's catch up the Main Dock. Marcin's a deck hand on one of the big fishing boats so he gets to bring home a small portion of every week's catch, even though he's only 15 and you don't normally start on a ship until you're a bit older. My father knew the Captain personally, and asked if he had a spot for a young boy eager to work on a boat, and Marcin got the job within the week.

Finnick was 13, and it was the year before he was chosen as a tribute for the 65th Hunger Games. He was surrounded by a flock of girls (and several women!) who were giggling away at something he had said. I briefly remember Sarlie saying something about "that gorgeous boy Finnick" a few weeks ago in school, who "always seemed to have a crowd of female admirers" following him wherever he went, whether it be in school, on the docks to the boats he worked on, or to his home on the north side of District 4. I thought Sarlie was exaggerating, but judging by the flock of girls surrounding him, she wasn't. Sarlie said she thought he was stuck-up, he probably thought he was better than everyone because he always had people fawning over him. She still thought he was dead handsome though, even if he was a snob. The few times I had seen him around I tended to agree. He was always smirking over his parade of lovesick women, strutting around like he owned the district. Which, of course, he didn't. We belong to the capitol, and they don't let us forget it, even if we are one of the bigger, wealthier, luckier districts. We have Peacekeepers just like everyone else.

Finnick and his crowd of twittering idiots were heading towards us up the Main Dock, and Marcin and I had to move over as far as we could without falling into the ocean to let them pass. Finnick swaggered past me with his admirer's pushing and shoving each other to be close to him. Someone mistook me for one of the crowd, shoved my basket of fish out of my hands, and all over the dock.

"Oh! My fish!" I gasped. The fish were scatted over the width of the dock in the dirt and sand that covered it, about to be trampled by the herd of lovesick women chasing after Finnick Odair. Marcin was too far up the Main Dock and separated by girls to help me. I don't think he'd even noticed what had happened.

I dropped to my knees and hurriedly began scooping fish into my basket before they were trampled or stolen. I reached for fish and my hand hit someone else's as they reached for it too. I looked up to shout at them for stealing, and stared right into the sea-green eyes of Finnick Odair, who shot me a winning smile and placed the fish neatly in my basket, before reaching for another.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"You dropped your fish, I'm helping you pick them up before they're trampled." He replied easily.

I stared at him in disbelief for a second, before grabbing the last of the fish. "Well… thank-you" I stammered.

"No problem!" he grinned, before strolling off down the dock to join a group of boys who were fishing off the edge, while his gaggle of wishful lovers tittered about how "nice" and "thoughtful" it was of him to stop and pick up my fish for me.

I stared after him for a bit, wondering why he bothered to stop and help me, before running after my brother, who hadn't even noticed I wasn't behind him.

I think I'll always remember this moment, when Finnick proved all my thoughts and opinions about him wrong. He wasn't a snob; he didn't think he was better than me. If he did I expect he wouldn't have helped me, probably would have even laughed at the small girl scurrying around in the dirt and sand of the dock after a basket of fish. He was genuinely kind and almost charming even.

Every time I saw Finnick after that I always seemed to drop something, spill something, or knock something over. I spent half the time around him on my knees, picking up whatever was littered all over the ground because of me. I dropped books, clothes, food. Spilt water, milk and berries. Knocked over people, chairs, fishing baskets. I even tripped myself a few times. And Finnick would be there, grinning at me, helping me pick up whatever I'd scattered on the ground, even if it was me. He'd say something like "do I dazzle you that much?", "not going to faint at the sight of me, are you?", or "didn't you trip last time too?"

I'm sure I embarrassed myself in every way possible without meaning too. Sarlie noticed my problem every time Finnick was near, and began to tease me about liking him.

She stopped talking about him the day he was picked.

I remember watching him grinning in the crowd. His grin slipped off when his name was called. Someone wailed in despair as he climbed the stage. He turned in their direction and flashed a bright smile, a bit shaky, but still a smile.

On the day he returned, a bit battered and bruised and a haunted look in his eyes, he was still grinning. Many girls cried tears of joy that day.

Sometimes I wish we were back there, in that time where the Hunger Games and the Capitol hadn't broken us; where we didn't know pain, suffering, and despair.

Where my world wasn't filled with screams, ghosts, blood and horror. When my head wasn't filled with the memories of others and I wasn't trying to save the lives of every citizen of Panem from the future.

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	2. Chapter 2 Chapter 1: Marcin

**A/N: I've edited a few mistakes I found, but I didn't change any of the story :)**

**So I haven't had any reviews yet but hopefully after this chapter is up I might see some! :)**

**I welcome anything you can contribute to make my writing better **

**This story might be fairly slow, as I'm skipping between the present and the past. I'm sorry if this is confusing! **

**Also sorry if there are mistakes! I wrote this at night when inspiration struck me :)**

**Thank you to everyone who reads my story, I really appreciate it  
**

**Love & Cats!  
**

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognise belongs to Suzanne Collins. All the rest is mine, mine, mine!  
**

**Chapter 1 - Marcin  
**

_My name is Annie Cresta. I am from District 4. I am the Victor of the 70__th__ Hunger Games. I love Finnick. I love the Sea. I am not insane. I am not insane. I am not insane. I am not in-  
_

"Annie!" his voice floats by. "Where are you?" He interrupts my mantra.

I won't answer. I won't let him find me, see what I've done. He'll be so disappointed.

My bottle of Capitol prescribed pills lies shattered on the floor beside me, the dusty remains of them coating my mouth from where I crammed a handful down my throat. Finnick will be angry that I took them all, but I needed too. I can't cope. The visions were especially hard to face today. But soon they will melt away in a haze of drugs and I won't see them, hear them, feel them.

_A flash of blue. Hands braiding long dark hair. A song sung by birds. Eyes rimmed in gold, and filled with pain. A stage, lit with lights. The dam breaking. A spurt of blood-  
_

"Annie!" I can't miss the desperation in his voice. It's urging me to answer, to tell him where I crouch, dirty and scared in a dark room.

"Finnick." My voice is barely louder than a whisper, but somehow he still hears me. In an instant he's by my side, arms wrapped around me, eyes frowning at the smashed bottle.

"Oh, Annie." I cringe at the mix of disappointment and sadness in his voice.

"Finnick, I couldn't, not today. Please Finnick. Make them stop." I cling to him, feeling tears creeping up. The drugs are starting to take over, my arms feel weaker, my mind fuzzy.

"It's ok Annie, I'm here" He whispers, and I already feel better. Maybe I should have found Finnick first, not my pills. But he was Busy. Busy, busy, busy. Busy as a bee.

My mind is wandering and I know I have seconds before the drugs take over and I black out.

"Finnick" I whisper. "My Finnick". As I slip into a drug fuelled black out I hear Finnick whisper back. Only one word, but it makes my heart soar.

"Forever"

The day my brother died started out like normal. I rushed to the beach to wave goodbye to him as he joined his fellow crew members on their way to the Docks. And I waited the extra few minutes to see Finnick stroll down the beach on his way to the same crew.

I always waited to see Finnick now, even if I did pretend to be collecting shells to sell in the market square. I think it started shortly after I turned thirteen, and gained an interest in boys. Marcin was 17 then, and had been working on a ship for two years. Now, I was 15, had a crush on Finnick Odair, Victor of the 65th Hunger Games, and was constantly using my 19 year old brother as an excuse to get a glimpse him.

My brother was a big man. He had the same looks as me; big, green eyes and dark, wavy hair. His skin was darker than mine, from working under the sun on his beloved ships. He was always so proud of his work. He liked to whistle when he was happy. Marcin shared the same intense love of the ocean as me, and would always go swimming with me when I begged. I even think he half knew about Finnick and why I waited to see him before leaving the beach in the mornings.

Finnick volunteered on the same ship Marcin worked on. Being a Victor, he didn't have to work anymore, being rich and all, but he says he needs something to do, needs a purpose every day. So he volunteers on the biggest fishing ship, the same ship my brother is part of the crew on. The go out into the deep water several hours off the harbour and fish for the bigger, more expensive fish.

I blushed as Finnick glanced my way and flashed a charming smile. I dropped the shells. He laughed.

"Still dropping things around me?" He chuckled as he walked past.

I mumbled something unintelligible and bent to gather my shells.

The day passed quickly. I went to school till noon, taught swimming lessons in the shallows off Shell Dock, helped old Tally with his washing, and arrived home at 5 to help my mother prepare for dinner and Marcin's arrival home. Papa was still in the warehouses, cleaning and boxing fish for shipment to the Capitol.

By the time it was 7:15 I began to worry. Marcin's usually home at half-past 6. I was thinking up all sorts of scenarios in my head.

_Maybe they stayed out to late in the deep. Maybe he's having a drink with his friends at the Shanty. Maybe he stayed to help deliver the fish to the warehouses. Maybe he's with Papa. Maybe they're staying out overnight and he forgot to tell us again. Maybe-_

"Annie, leave the poor tablecloth alone before you twist a hole in it!" My mother startled me from my thoughts. I glanced down at my hands to see them gripping the table cloth in a tight twist of material so hard my knuckles were white. I let go, not even realising I'd been doing it.

"Sorry." I mutter. "Shall I go down to the beach and see where Marcin's at?" I ask.

"Alright, but come straight back. No stopping at Sarlie's for a chat young lady!" I nodded and raced off.

When I got to the beach, it was chaos. People running back and forth, shouting, medic's moving through rows of bodies on the sand. Some were groaning, others, freakishly quiet.

My mind was trying to process what was happening around me when someone knocked me into the sand.

"Oh, Sorry! Hey! Annie! Oh, god Annie, I'm sorry!" Finnick's face stared at me, pale white and horrified.

"Finnick? What's happened?" I glance around at the scene before me again, not understanding what it meant.

"There…. There was an accident. Storm came out of nowhere, lightning hit the mast. It crushed three men when it fell, knocked others into the water. We barely made it back to port." He tells me this haltingly, like he's editing bits out, bits he doesn't want me to know.

"Finnick, where's Marcin?" I can tell by the look in his eye that he doesn't want to tell me. My breath catches and suddenly I'm terrified. Where is Marcin? I scan the area around me, but I don't see him.

"Annie…." Finnick's voice sounded tortured, like de doesn't want to answer my question. His eyes flit to the row of bodies in the sand.

I run. I run to the bodies. _Not Marcin not Marcin not Marcin._

I hear Finnick cry after me, but I don't listen. The tears are slowly trickling down my face, and I can't get enough air into my lungs. My breaths come out strangled and short.

I see him suddenly, about three quarters down the row, between a body covered in a sheet, and a groaning man with an arm missing. His face is pale, his green eyes open and staring. His dark hair a pool of waves on the sand. The anchor tattoo that my mother forbade him to get stands out on the deathly white skin of his forearm. A dark stain covers his stomach.

I hear screams. Horrible, heartbroken screams. It takes a little while for me to realise that they're coming out of my mouth. They are my screams.

My hands claw at my throat, trying to make them stop. But they don't.

Hands grab my waist and spin me around. My head is pressed against a warm chest and a hand strokes my hair.

"I'm so sorry. I couldn't save him. I tried, Annie, I tried but he was too far away. I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry…." Eventually his voice fades away and I don't feel anything anymore.

I am numb. The pain is so much that it becomes numb.

I think I faint, because when I take in my surroundings again I'm in my bed, under the sheets. Voices murmur in the kitchen.

I stumble out to the kitchen, asking for Marcin as I always do after a bad dream.

My parents faces stare at me, gaunt and pale, and I know. It was no dream.

I open my mouth to scream but nothing comes out. My father stands up and gathers me into his arms. He whispers comforting words. I don't know how long I stay like that for, trembling in my father's arms like a little girl.

He tells me Marcin saw the mast falling and pushed another man out of the way, only to catch a splintered wooden plank in his stomach.

He tells me Finnick Odair got to him first, clambering over wreckage and darting across half the ship to reach Marcin. How he tried to restart Marcin's heart, but he wasn't quick enough.

I silently thank Finnick for trying.

I don't leave the house, or even my bed, for weeks. I know I'm not handling things very well. My father says I'm fragile. I don't want to be fragile, I want to be strong. But I can't.

When I do leave the house, and return to school, I see Finnick in the main square. Staring at me. Just staring. I almost turn around and run home in tears, but I force myself to keep walking. One step, two. All the way to Finnick.

I look up at his face and try to find the words to express my feelings, but nothing comes out. Finnick study's my face.

"I'm sorry." He whispers.

"Thank-you" I manage to choke out. "For trying."

He looks at me with anguished eyes, touches my cheek briefly, and walks away.

I don't understand why he looks that way at me.

Every time I saw Finnick for the rest of that year he always looked at me with a mixture of anguish, confusion, and something gentler that it couldn't figure out.

When I turned sixteen, and started volunteering in the apothecary, I noticed Finnick was always in, either buying herbs or remedies, or just watching me work. That look in his eye, confusion and something I can't name, always there.

It calms me to feel his presence. I had rarely been calm since Marcin died. I often woke, screaming in the night, watching Marcin die over and over. I jumped at small noises, and constantly fidgeted with my hands. But Finnick soothed me. I could breathe steady, relax even.

Eventually he started chatting to me as I worked, asking about herbs and healing. He asked about my childhood, my friends, my family. I found I could even talk about Marcin with him. Anytime someone mentioned him I normally clammed up and couldn't speak, but with Finnick I found I could speak. And speak I did.

I told him about Marcin teaching me to swim, about exploring the rock pool that sometimes emerge at low tide just past the Sailing Dock. I told him stories of our adventures, of the time Marcin dropped a bag of flour and it exploded all over him, making him look like a snowman. I told him about the games we played, the secrets we shared, the close bond we had.

I was slowly starting to come to terms with Marcin's death. Sarlie said I was even starting to seem like the old Annie. The happy, bright, fun loving girl who I was afraid would never be the same after Marcin.

Sarlie is my best friend. We met the first year of school and have been best friends ever since. Sarlie is beautiful. She has honey coloured hair, and eyes as blue as the sky on a crisp winters morning. And she can dance like no one I've ever seen.

Sarlie likes to tease me about Finnick, especially after I confided in her that I think I have feelings for him. But we both know the stories. Finnick Odair, Panem's biggest playboy. We've all heard the stories about Finnick and the women of the Capitol. They say he likes them all; short, tall, thin, fat, rich. They say he has had hundreds of lovers, maybe even thousands. They say he keeps the lavish gifts he received forma satisfied lover in a room in his house in the Victor's Village. They say, they say, they say.

Personally, I don't think I believe the stories that much. Maybe Finnick has had a few lovers from the Capitol, maybe he keeps a few gifts. But I don't think he sleeps with every capitol female he meets. I don't want to think that. Not the Finnick I know, who comes into the apothecary just to talk to me. The Finnick who plays with the children in the street, the Finnick who would give all his money to others if he could. The Finnick I think I might be in love with.

He talks to everyone, asking about their day, their families, their lives. He plays with any child who asks him. He teaches swimming and fishing when he can. He volunteers on the boats, helping to bring in food he doesn't need. He gives his Victor winnings to anyone in need, not that there are many in need in District 4.

I see everything he does, every kind, thoughtful, thing. And my heart melts a little more every time. By the time I am 17 I know that I am, without a doubt, in love with Finnick Odair.

And then my name is Reaped.

**Please Review!**


	3. Chapter 2: You're Still Insane, Annie

**Hi all. I would love some reviews!**

**I have a question, would you like the whole story from Annie's POV, or some from other characters POV's as well? Like Finnick, some tribute's, Snow's etc?**

**This is my first Fanfiction and I could really use some pointers on how to use the Publishing bit of this website, I'm struggling to set my Chapters out how I want them to be.**

**I have like linebreaks in my Word documents when I first type my chapters, to emphasise the difference in time in the story, like switching from present Annie to Annie before the games, but when I upload it to the site they disappear and it's just one big clump of a chapter with no breaks. I've gone back and tried to put in a few linebreaks and a star between different times, but when i publish the chapter they're not there? Does anyone know how to fix this :(**

**Thank you for reading this , I really appreciate it!**

**Love & Cats :)**

**Chapter 2 – You're Still Insane, Annie  
**

The anniversary of my Victor's Tour, the anniversary of when the Capitol turned me into an insane Psychic, is always hard to face.

I'm not sure which is harder; facing the reaping and watching two more children die horrific deaths in an Arena where they are forced to kill or be killed, facing the anniversary of my Victor's Tour where I became a living science experiment of the Capitols doing, or the memories.

They waited until my Victor's Tour, to ensure that I really was insane and not pretending, and then they took me. Right off the train, out from my mentors' noses in the dead of the night. They knew I had gone to bed early, and they took me. Away from my mentors, my prep team, my little remaining sanity

I open my eyes to see a room. A room with no windows and, seemingly, no door. Of course, there was a door, hidden in a wall. But when I come to in that room, shivering, my arm bleeding a little from a hasty injection to keep me unconscious, I thought there was no door.

A room made of cold, hard metal. No windows, no door, no escape. It was like being trapped in my mind, unable to escape, forced to watch my horrific memories over and over again until I was sure I was twice as insane as I was before. Except, when I was trapped in my mind, I could still run. Run to the ocean, run to Finnick, run away. Run away from my memories, run until I escaped them and they stopped playing over and over in my head.

In this room I can't escape them, tied down to a cold hard operating table. The memories attack my mind over and over, stabbing, slashing, splintering through my head. Until my throat is too hoarse to scream, my body too weak to thrash about, my wrists too damaged and bleeding to move from trying to break free of the metal shackles.

Someone entered then, their face covered by white, and gave me another injection, this one more carefully applied then the one needed to get me off the train. I can feel the drugs seeping through my veins, cool and slow, soothing me, freezing my memories and stopping them from coming. I stared at the ceiling, watching the lights grow dimmer and dimmer, until they faded all together into a deep black.

When I resurface from my black sea of unconsciousness, the first thing I register is that I'm not tied down anymore, I'm in a bed and my head is pounding.

The second thing I notice is I can see Finnick. Swimming through the ocean, just there, in front of me. I f I reach out I could touch him. I watch for a bit, watching his arms power through the waves.

_I love his arms_

And then suddenly Finnick's not there and I'm watching a small girl scurrying up a rock wall. Her long, black hair catches on a branch and she's forced to stop and rip it off. She cries out in pain, and I see a knife appear in her side. She slips and then she falls, down, down, down, into the waiting arms of a huge, manically grinning boy, who pulls out the knife, and uses it to cut her throat.

I scream. I scream and scream. The pounding in my head gets worse.

Someone comes running in. Different to last time. There's no white covering her face. She looks concerned.

"Annie? Annie, can you hear me?" My mouth is still screaming but I manage to nod.

"Annie, you need to stop screaming. It's ok, the visions over, you can stop." My mouth closes slowly, my screams dying off.

_Vision?_

"Annie, my name is Doctor Santios. I'm here to help you through this. Do you know where you are?" She checks some sort of machine that I didn't notice when I came too.

"Annie? You need to talk to me. I can't help you if you don't." She unhooks something from my arm and places it on the table beside me.

"What's happening?" I croak.

She looks at me, and I think I glimpse a flash of pity and anger cross her face before a mask settles and she is calm and collected, a robot.

"You are in an underground Lab in the Capitol. You have just undergone an experimental procedure, developed by Capitol scientists, that uses the effects of insanity to produce ongoing Psychic visions."

_What? I've under gone what to produce what?_

I don't understand what she's saying. The capital has experimented on me? They've taken my insanity and what? My head hurts too much for me to process anything.

"What?" I ask.

"Honey, they injected you with a formula that takes your insanity and uses it to help you see Psychic visions of the future, for the Capitol's convenience." She looks upset, like she doesn't like what she's saying. The robot has disappeared.

"I'm not insane anymore?" I'm not crazy? I'm not crazy! I'm –

"No Annie, I'm afraid there are still some effects of insanity that remain." She catches the crestfallen look on my face and hastily adds, "You're still insane, Annie, to the Capitol. But I deem you to be semi-sane now. Many effects of your insanity are gone. Although, your Psychic abilities will bring new effects, so it may appear that you are still insane to most people. And it is likely you could be driven fully insane by the visions you see".

I think I might start screaming again. They've replaced my insanity with another kind of insanity, telling everyone I'm still insane, and telling me I could be driven completely insane. They're crazy, all of them, no one can see the future! I feel an episode coming on, I open my mouth to scream and she covers it with her hand yelling

"Wait! Don't scream! I'm on your side! I'm here to help you through your visions and teach you to manage them!" She looks a bit desperate. I stare at her. They even have a doctor for the insane who apparently can see the future, and will be driven even more insane by it.

"When you woke up, what did you see?" I won't tell her about Finnick, I won't! He's _my_ secret!

Then I remember the girl, and I start crying.

Doctor Santios strokes my hair and tells me that it's ok, I can tell her. I focus on her dark purple hair and the faint golden symbol shimmering on her forehead until I can breathe again. My head stops hurting a little.

I stammer through the dream, or I guess it's a 'vision' now, telling her about the girl, the rocks, the manically grinning boy, and how he cuts her throat. My doctor looks a bit green, but maybe it's the lighting.

She pulls out a pad of paper and records something on it, my 'vision' I guess. I'm sceptical about this whole 'Psychic vision' thing. Are they trying to make me even more insane? Are they still testing to see if I am insane? It can't be real? ...Can it?

Doctor Santios tells me that if I have a 'vision' I need to call for her straight away. She tells me nothing in my visions can hurt me, I'm only watching what will happen. I'm supposed to practice some breathing exercises and relax my mind to see if I can have another 'vision'. She also puts a small bottle of pills on the table out of my reach. She instructs me that if the visions get too much for me she will have someone give me two pills. I contemplate taking the pills anyway to stop my head throbbing.

Then she leaves.

I don't know how long I was in the lab for, overnight I guess, as Finnick and Mags didn't notice I was gone, and it was only early morning when woke again on the train. I had two more 'visions' after my doctor left. One was of a girl hunting with a bow and arrow. The second, Mags on the train wearing a purple shawl and telling Finnick that she doesn't like crab pie, and Finnick reacting in surprise as he tells her he had gotten her one for her birthday for the past 3 years thinking they were her favourite. Mags said the stray cats always had a good meal on those days.

I didn't understand them, but it was the last vision that made me believe what Doctor Santios told me, that I am the Capitol's Psychic experiment. Because when I woke up again, in my room on the train, and run outside to see if it was all a dream, there was Mags in her purple shawl, telling Finnick she doesn't like crab pie.

I crumple and have a pretty bad episode, screaming and crying and raving about the Capitol and Visions. Finnick holds me and desperately asks what is wrong.

Eventually, the story comes out, and I have the bruises on my arm from the needles to prove it. Finnick and Mags are furious, horrified, but they believe. I wonder what the Capitol has done to them.

Finnick and Mags are the only one I tell, because President Snow arrives in the next few hours and requests a private chat.

He tells me there will always be a Capitol attendant with me in District 4 that will record my visions to be sent back to the Capitol for people to review and decide if what to do about them.

I must always tell the attendant what I've seen. Always. If I don't, people will be hurt. Doctor Santios will ring me once a week to check up on me and hear some visions personally to check my progress. I will always have a bottle of pills to take if necessary, like the ones in the room, Doctor Santios insisted on it. Snow doesn't look too happy about this, but he still lets his attendant push a bottle into me trembling hands.

If I tell anyone about what has happened to me, not only will they be killed, but their families and friends as well. I nearly start screaming at this moment, but I force myself to hold it in, hold it in until he's gone.

Then he tells me that no one else has ever survived the process besides me. I am the only one. Everyone else died on the operating table, or after the first vision. He tells me that only the insane can be turned into Psychics. I feel glad for a moment that he won't turn anyone else into a Psychic, to suffer as I will; until he says that sometimes he still has sane people undergo the procedure because it is a very painful way to die, and I know. I know he is threatening me.

Tell anyone, and they die by undergoing the insane procedure I have just survived. At that moment, when he threatens me so terribly, his snake eyes glinting, I know I will never be fully sane again.

* * *

I am wearing my best, _best_ green dress, and my hair is shiny and tumbles in waves down my back to my waist. My mother has tied a green ribbon in my hair, saying she "wants me to look pretty just in case". Then she tears up and has to leave the room. My father tells me it'll be ok, I won't be chosen. My name is only in the draw 6 times.

I stand in a group of other seventeen year old girls. Sarlie finds her way to my side and we grasp hands, just like we have done every year that our names have been in the draw. She looks lovely in her yellow dress. I pray she isn't reaped.

I glance at the stage, where all our Victors sit in front of the Justice Building in the Main Square. There are 17 still alive. Only 6 sit on the stage, 4 who want to go to the Capitol, for the food, the people and the luxury I guess, and 2 who volunteered to be mentors. We can have more than two mentors; once there was even 6 mentors! But I guess only two volunteered this year. Mags, who is about 80, always volunteers. She speaks a little weirdly, I think maybe she had a stroke a while back, after a particularly brutal games.

Finnick is the other mentor. I stare at him for a while, taking in his features. His beautiful sea-green eyes, the wavy bronze hair, his lips, cheeks, arms, legs, everything. Then he turns and looks directly at me, as if he knew I was watching, and we gaze at each other for what feels like forever, until the trumpets begin to play and we are jolted back to reality. Finnick gives me a worried look, as if trying to say 'please don't get picked' and I remember the two kisses we have shared before today.

The first was after I finished one afternoon at the Apothecary. It was pouring down rain and the sky was dark with clouds. I ran out of the Apothecary, intent on running all the way home, and crashed straight into Finnick's chest. We had been talking a lot this week, and he even gave me a flower one day.

Even though he was two years older than me, an inexperienced 17 year old, I already knew that I was in love with him, and of course I blushed furiously. He gave me a beautiful smile and steadied me with his hands. We stared at each other for a second, me with all the love I could pour into my eyes, and him with a kind of desperate longing, and then we were kissing.

I don't know who started it, but we were both kissing so furiously that I have no doubt that he wanted it too. I don't know how long it lasted, but it seemed a life time. We were thoroughly soaked when we broke apart, arms still wrapped around each other. Finnick gave me a sheepish grin, whispered "see you tomorrow" in my ear, stroked my cheek, and then walked off into the rain, whistling.

I danced the whole way home practically glowing, giddy with happiness.

The second time it happened I was on the beach, just wandering up and down in the evening light, thinking of Marcin. It had been nearly two years since he had passed away. I was getting quite teary when suddenly Finnick appeared, walking quite quickly towards me. I stopped and watched him almost run to me. He grabbed my face and pressed it to his, his mouth moving desperately against mine. This kiss was different from the first, it was desperate, rougher. He was clinging to me like his life depended on it. I sighed his name.

When we broke apart I asked what was wrong and he replied "don't get picked, Annie.", and walked off over the sand dunes.

I realised later that he meant at the reaping next week. "Don't get picked, Annie". Don't get picked in the Games.

And so, of course, I did.

One minute I'm holding Sarlie's hand, the next, Nina Bendine, the District 4 escort from the Capitol, is reading out my name.

"Annie Cresta"

I'm frozen, looking at Finnick in terror. I hear Sarlie whimper beside me.

Hands push me to the stage.

I'm wooden, no feelings but terror, terror, terror. My heart beats a horrifying tattoo on my ribs. _Terror, terror, terror_. Finnick's face, frozen for a split second in desperation, horror_, pain_. Sarlie's whimpers in the crowd. My mother, fainting on the sidelines, caught by my father who holds her up with the help of another man so the peacekeepers don't notice and punish her. Finnick's face, filed with pain, horror, _anger_.

_Terror, terror, terror  
_

Nina Bendine's voice penetrates through the terror filled haze in my brain.

"Tommin Abraham"

Oh, no._ No! NO! _Anyone but him! Anyone! It's not real, it's not him!

Tommin is Sarlie's little brother.

**Thank-you for reading.**


	4. Chapter 3: Then You Are Dead

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**Chapter 3: Then you are dead.  
**

The first few weeks after my Victory Tour are the hardest. Not only are the memories still fresh, but I'm now an insane Capitol Psychic.

Ardin, my Capitol attendant, thinks I'm doing ok. At least, I'm doing a hell of a lot better than any other experimental psychic, considering I'm still alive.

The visions only came two or three times a day for the first week or so, and then they steadily increased until I was seeing nearly 7 or 8 a day. After the visions I normally have an episode. Screaming, shaking, crying, crying, crying. No one can calm me except Finnick and Mags, and even then it takes a while.

I don't remember them all, only a few stood out.

_Finnick on a boat, his hair flying around his face, eyes dark and frowning at the clouds._

_A boy carving a branch into a spear, his eyes constantly scanning the bushes around him, not watching what his hands are doing. His fingers slip and he cuts himself. He still lets out a loud whimper, freezes, then he's off, racing though the bushes like someone is chasing him._

_An arrow flying into a pile of supplies that explodes when it hits._

_A baby with dark hair and blue, piercing eyes, laughing happily._

_A bloody axe clutched in small, blood covered hands that tremble.  
_

Ardin has written most of my visions down and sent them to the Capitol. I never tell him the ones about Finnick, for fear that someone will find out about him. He's my secret and I will not tell.

I don't tell him about the baby either. Or the arrow that explodes the mound of supplies. The baby because it looks innocent and happy, and I don't want the Capitol always watching over its shoulder, trying to see what its birth means.

I don't tell Ardin about the arrow and the explosion because I saw it when I was asleep, and I can't work out if I was dreaming, or watching a vision.

I've only had to use Doctor Santios' pills once. I'd had a particularly horrible set of visions, about two young children fighting to the death. The first vision showed me two small boys, both about 13, chasing each other with knives. I thought it was just play, until the second vision showed me them on an empty plain littered with bodies. One boy had several fingers missing, the other a wound on his left leg, and I knew this was not play. This was the Hunger games. The third and final vision showed me the boy with the missing fingers being stabbed over and over by the other boy, who was sobbing.

Not even Finnick could calm me after that vision, and Mags forced me to take two pills. I drifted off to sleep sometime in the next half hour when the pills finally took effect.

Only one other vision has come true besides the one on the train, where Mags tells Finnick she doesn't like crab pie.

I watched a small girl in a group of mothers and children fall off the Fisherman's Dock, into the ocean. She sunk down, out of sight. No one noticed she had fallen, until her mother started wailing. A young boy, only about 8, jumped in where she fell. It seemed forever until he resurfaced, the little girl clasped in his arms. A woman performed the kiss of life on her, and pumped the air into her lungs with her hands until the girl gasped for breath, and vomited up sea water. The mother cried with joy.

Finnick tells me this really happened; he saw it with his own eyes. He fully believes me now, after he listened to me tell him about the vision, and then two days later he watched it unfold with his own eyes.

I'm getting used to the visions. Finnick thinks I'll be able to cope with them before the next Hunger Games in three months, where he is volunteering as mentor, and I'm thinking l might as well, because I don't think I can bear to be without him for the duration for the games.

I will be signing up for the games after I see a vision of myself, Finnick and Mags back in the same rooms I was in when I was a tribute, except in the vision I'm there as a mentor.

I can handle my visions now, I don't scream when I have one, I don't seize up, unable to move on every vision, and I don't cry and cry after every single vision is forced on me. I still cover my hands and close my eyes during the horrible visions, and I can't help the vacant, staring expression that covers my face when I get enter a vision.

Finnick says he thinks I'll be fine in the Capitol. No one will notice my weird behaviour when I have a vision.

I mean, everyone thinks I'm insane already.

* * *

After Tommin's name is read everything becomes a blur of noise and colour.

Sarlie's yellow dress swaying madly as she screams. Finnick's eyes, dark green and stormy. Mags patting my hair. Nina Bendine's shrill voice declaring the Reaping over.

Tommin and I are dragged into the Justice Building and pushed through separate doors. A few seconds pass and my parents come rushing in, my mother conscious again.

"Annie! Annie!" her voice is sounds horrible. She's barely coping. My father wraps us both in a hug. He tells me to win, to come home. But I think we both know I'm not coming home.

I can barely kill a fish without crying. Every fishing trip my father and Marcin have taken me on I have cried at least once. Sure, I can catch fish with hooks made of just about anything. I can tie hundreds of knots with rope, vine, string. I can even spear fish out of fast moving water, but I hate killing them.

I'll never be able to kill a person. I'd probably kill myself first.

We don't get long together, my parents and I. My mother tells me to be brave; my father presses a necklace that belonged to Marcin into my hand, telling me it can be my District token. A few whispered "I love you" 's.

Then they are dragged away. I can hear my mother crying that it's "not fair, first Marcin and now Annie". The tears start to fall now.

Sarlie comes in, tears still falling, dress a little dirty and torn at the bottom. She races to me, hugs me hard.

"Annie, you have to look after him. Annie you have too!" I know she's chosen her brother, is begging me to help bring him home. I understand. Tommin is her brother, her baby brother. And we both know he has a much better chance of making it home then me.

Tommin might only be 15, but he's tough. He's taller than me, which isn't hard considering I'm quite small. He's been working on the Docks the past two years helping to repair Jensen's Dock, then smaller, less used dock to the left of the Main Dock. The work has left him fit and strong, able to lift heavy loads, throw things far and fast. He's already a brilliant swimmer, as all District 4 children are. And I also know, from Sarlie, that he is skilled with the harpoon, and was being recruited onto one of the whaling ships as a trainee Harpoonist. Only the best of the best get recruited at 15.

Tommin has a damn good chance of coming back. I don't. It's an easy choice for Sarlie to make.

I promise her I will do everything I can to help Tommin. And then she leaves.

The last person to visit me is old Tally. Tally is even older then Mags. So old, in fact, that he was too old for the first Hunger Games. He walks with a cane and his back is bent so far that he would be almost half the height of himself when he could stand straight. I do his washing for him and sometimes cook or clean if he needs it. He's a lovely old man, his mind is a bit addled but I love talking to him.

He sits down next to me and pats my hand.

"No washa wee?" he asks, grinning.

I laugh. I actually laugh.

Here I am, my worst nightmare taking place. I've been reaped for the Hunger Games, I'm struggling to keep it together, I've got tears all over my face, and I'm laughing at an old man who just asked if I won't be able to wash this week. I think I'm crazy.

I throw my arms around Tally.

"I'll miss you Tally! You'll have to find someone else to do your washing now. And don't think you can sweet talk them into loosing at cards with you!"

This is an ongoing joke between us. The first time I came to help Tally with his washing, he managed to talk me into playing cards with him. Thinking that a senile old man won't be much competition, I went easy on him, even betting one of my mother's home cooked muffins if he won by a small amount. And I got my ass handed to me. He may seem senile, but that old man's mind works perfectly! Tricking a poor, innocent, unsuspecting young girl out of every muffin she had in her basket because she unwittingly fell into his trap and got thoroughly beaten. But, as Tally is a kind old man, he only took one muffin and let me keep the rest.

I'll miss Tally. His easy laugh and kind voice.

As he leaves, he turns around and says "Nah need nah washa. You bah." He grins toothily, and limps off.

I am shocked. Tally just told me he doesn't need a new Washer, I'll be back.

Well, at least someone believes in me, even if I don't believe in myself.

We are herded onto the train. I stare at Marcin's necklace. It's just a simple metal fish on a piece of old string, but I know it was important to him, to my father. I clutch it close.

Tommin stares at me. I stare at him. We both open our mouths, but Tommin speaks first.

"Don't worry Annie, I'll look after you."

Once again, I am shocked. Tommin can't look after me; I have to look after him! Sarlie said!

Tommin studies my face. "Sarlie told you to look after me, I'll bet. Well I'm going to look after you, for her."

And I'm crying again. Finnick and Mags arrive, stopping anything I would have said to Tommin.

Mags sits next to me, and pats my back while I cry. I've seen Mags around, always a ready smile and helping hand. She may be old, but she always helps when she can. I like her.

Finnick stands in the corner and scowls at the ground, avoiding my eyes.

Nina arrives, all green hair and enthusiastic hand motions. She twitters on through dinner, no one really listening. Tommin talks to everyone. Mags says an occasional word. Finnick scowls. I am silent.

The food really is lovely. Warm, tasty. Thick stews, creamy sauces, juicy meat. Beautiful, delicate desserts. I manage to eat a fair bit, after Finnick gives me a look when I haven't touched anything for several minutes after the food is brought out.

After we've eaten, Tommin wants to talk strategy. Finnick asks what he can do. Tommin talks about his future Harpoonist career. I add in that Tommin can also lift and throw, and swim pretty darn well. Tommin gives me a weird look.

"Annie is probably the best swimmer district 4 has." He says. I stare. _What.  
_

"She _never_ loses a race long or short distance. She teaches swimming lessons. She can hold her breathe for ages. She swam from Sailing Dock all the way to Bartin's reef last year, without any help. She only stopped to rest twice. That's just over 100km. I have never seen _anyone_ swim as fast, long or as graceful as Annie."

It's true, I teach swimming. I can't _remember_ losing a race but I don't know. I _can_ hold my breath for pretty long, but so can most in District 4. But I did swim to Bartin's Reef last year, without help. I actually stopped 5 times to get a drink from my water bottle strapped to my arm and to rest.

Finnick's looking at me weirdly again. Sort of proud, yet sort of pained.

I tell them I stopped 5 times, actually, thank you very much. Finnick laughs.

Mags is dead impressed. She only knows of two other people who have made it all the way to Bartin's reef unaided. Both are long dead. We all talk for a while, discussing strategy, weapons, tactics.

I don't think being able to swim well and hold my breath is going to help me in the Games. Unless the arena's a giant bowl of water.

The recap of the Reaping's are played.

Finnick has a notebook, and he writes down names, ages, descriptions, whether they are a threat or not by his judgement, potential allies.

I watch, horrified.

The pair from District 1 are the same as always. Blonde, sexy, deadly smiles. I know they can kill viciously. The boy is a volunteer, but the girl isn't, surprisingly. The perfect Careers. The girl has a ridiculous name: Satin.

District 2 are disturbing. The boy is a mountain. Huge. His arms are wider than me! He has black hair cut close to his skull. He grins menacingly. The girl is smaller, but packed with muscle. She jumps onto the stage, her smile wide and threatening. I notice a tiny scar in the right corner of her lip, like she had a knife between her teeth and it cut her. I shiver.

I don't catch either of their names. They are both volunteers.

I barely register District 3, a small boy and a scared looking girl.

The suddenly I'm on the screen. My face is white, but expressionless. A mask of stone. I am secretly glad. I imagine what the girl from 2 would do to me if I looked weak. Tommin appears. He looks calm. He even manages a grin. I see my face in the corner of the screen, tiny, but contorted into a look at shock and horror. I pray the girl from 2 doesn't see it.

District 5 and 6 blur past. The girl from 5 faints as she gets on the stage. Not good.

District 7 produces a girl with the biggest legs I've ever seen. Her arms bulge with muscles. Her eyes are quite close together, and I think she might be slow. Good. With arms and legs like that she'd kill everyone if she was clever. The boy is only 12. No one volunteers. He takes a frightened look at the huge girl beside him. I am scared for him. His name is Jay.

District 8 is awful. A brother and sister picked. No one volunteers. The girl looks to be around 13, the brother around my age. I catch a glimpse of a screaming mother, another tiny child hugging her leg. I feel horrible. Zeah and Flax, they are called.

District 9 tributes look around the same age, 14-15. Not young yet not the oldest. The girl is tiny, a wisp. I bet the girl from 2 thinks she's an easy kill. I think they said her name was Halli.

I don't register District 10.

District 11 has a girl, maybe 16, and a tall boy, skinny, but looks to be older than me. He has a dangerous glint in his eye. I think he might be harder for the Careers to catch then they think.

District 12 is sad. The children in the crowd look mostly malnourished, under fed, sickly. The girl is blond and pretty, small but better fed then most of the crowd. The boy has dirty skin, dirty clothes, longish black hair, and huge, grey, empty eyes. His eyes make me shiver. They look dead. Their names are Nymph and Atiyan.

After the recap, I leave for my room. Finnick follows me.

He shuts the door behind us and just holds me in his arms, his face buried in my hair.

"Oh Annie" he mumbles. I hold him tighter.

"I can't do this Finnick. I can't kill someone." My voice sounds dead. Finnick pulls back and gives me a gentle shake.

"Annie you've got to survive. You've got to!" He's angry all of a sudden. He punches the wall and curses. I flinch.

"You have to survive! Even if that means killing someone! Even if it means killing the little boy from 7! You have to Annie!" He's shouting now.

I know I can't do it. I know I couldn't kill that little boy. I won't become a killer! I won't!

"I won't Finnick! I won't do it!" I yell at him, my fists scrunched up at my sides.

His face stills. Becomes cold, mask like.

"Then you are dead."

* * *

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	5. Chapter 4: You're Not Worthless

**I'm so sorry it's been so long since I uploaded! I had assignments due and exams for the end of my Uni Semester and then I went on holidays for a month away from a computer and so on. Sorry again! :/**

**Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter! I'll try to upload in the next few weeks!**

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* * *

**Chapter 4: You're Not Worthless**

Finnick hasn't talked to me all day.

He's still upset that I said I wouldn't kill. He throws me a half angry, half tortured look every once in a while, and then resumes his glowering at the floor. It's a wonder the floor hasn't melted from the heat in his glare.

He doesn't understand. It's not that I won't kill; it's that I know I _can't_. I couldn't kill someone, take their_ life_! I shouldn't get to decide who lives and who dies. Nobody should.

The Hunger Games make me sick. They always have. How can you force children, _children_, to kill one another for entertainment? What kind of monster do you have to be to enjoy that? How twisted, how evil, how_ insane_ do you have to be to come up with an idea like the Hunger Games?

I know Finnick hates the games just as much as me, he even told me so. But, he's survived them. He's killed people, children. I'm not as strong as Finnick; I don't think I would cope with taking a life. I think it would kill me, or at the very least, drive me insane.

I'm not god; I'm not someone who has the power to decide who lives and who dies. And, personally, I don't think anyone else has that power either. I don't think anyone should decide who lives, and who dies. The Capitol shouldn't decide.

But I guess none of this matters, seeing as I'm going to die in the Arena anyway.

* * *

I hide in my compartment for most of the day, only coming out when Mags forces me to eat. I don't want to look at Finnick, see the disappointment and pain etched into his face.

I don't know why he cares so much. I'm just a silly fisherman's daughter who's going to die a bloody and painful death in a few days. Why should he care what happens to me? I mean, it's not like we're together or anything. We've only kissed twice, and I don't really know what they mean. Finnick's probably kissed heaps of girls. Heck, he probably kissed girls after he kissed me. Everyone's heard the stories about him in the Capitol, and I've seen the looks he gives other girls.

And it's not like I have any hope of winning the Games. Finnick and Mags should just forget about me and focus on Tommin. He has a chance, a real chance, to return home alive. See his family, his friends, everyone. Tommin's strong, killing someone won't drive him insane.

I guess I really am pathetic. The only Career from District 4 who won't kill. But I'll help Tommin anyway I can. I'll sneak him food, watch his back, take any blows meant for him. Because I promised Sarlie I'd look after him, because he really does have a chance.

At dinner I tell Finnick and Mags that they should focus on Tommin and forget about me. That I probably won't even survive the Bloodbath. That I'm worthless.

Finnick explodes. The table is upturned and food is everywhere. He's shouting, yelling, furious, his hands waving everywhere. I cover my ears and squeeze my eyes shut.

I assume Finnick stormed off, because when I open my yes and take my hands off my ears he's gone. Nina Bendine left too, muttering about barbarians ruining her dinner.

Mags looks a bit shocked. Then, she focusses her eyes on me, and I gulp. She looks more serious than I've ever seen her, her eyes bore right into me, steely grey and determined. Her voice may be soft and croaky, a bit difficult to understand at times, but I understand every word that tumbles out of her mouth.

"You are not worthless! Never, ever, think of yourself like that. You are worth something, _everything_, to someone. You will be strong, and _survive_!"

And with that speech she gets up and hobbles in the direction I think Finnick stormed off on.

Tommin just stares open mouthed at me.

"You really think you're worthless Annie?"

I feel like crying, but I hold it in. "Tommin….I-I _can't_ kill someone! I can't survive the games if I can't kill!" I sound desperate in my own ears.

Tommin looks at me a bit strangely. "You'll be alright". He leaves for his compartment.

I don't know how long I sit curled up in my seat, eyes damp and nose red from sniffling. It's dark out the window and the lights are off in the dinner carriage. Capitol attendants have been and gone to clear away the mess from dinner, ignoring me.

I think I'm stupid. I shouldn't have said I was worthless. I don't mean that I think I'm a worthless person, I just meant that I'm worthless in the games. Someone who won't kill can't win.

I miss my mother. My father. _Marcin_. Hell, I even miss Pollie from school who always teases me and puts things in my hair, because they tangle easily in the curls.

I hug my legs tighter to me. It's cold in this carriage alone.

Footsteps echo softly done the hall and a shadow enters the dark room. It pauses, looks around, and heads towards me. I know it's Finnick by the way he moves. I'm not sure I want to talk to him. I'm embarrassed about what happened at dinner.

He stops a few feet in front of me, leaning against the table. I can just barely see his face. He looks dejected. His hands are buried in his pockets.

We stare at each other for what seems like forever, his eyes roaming all over my face, like he's memorising it, until he clears his throat and looks away.

"Annie…." He stops and glances at me. I can't read the emotion in his eyes.

"You're not worthless" He says it so quietly I hardly hear him. I look out the window, suddenly wanting to cry. I seem to want to cry all the time now, but I guess that is to be expected. I mean, I did just get sentenced to death after all.

"Annie…." His voice is louder, and filled with pain. He stares at me intensely, then suddenly rushes to me, gathering me into his arms and letting me cry all over his shirt. I can't help it, the tears won't stop. He smooths my hair and whispers to me.

"Annie it's ok. I'll find a way to save you. We'll be ok. I promise. I promise."

Eventually I stop crying and we sit there, clinging to each other. Someone slams their door and we fly apart, Finnick standing on the other side of the room and me in another seat, just before Tommin enters the room. He gives us a strange look, eyes darting between us.

"Evening." His voice sounds weird. He heads to the table with the teacups and hot water and makes himself a drink. He looks at us strangely again as he makes his way back to his room.

Finnick lets out a breath.

"Come on Annie, you need to get some sleep before the Capitol tomorrow". He takes my hand and leads me to my room. We stop outside the door, neither of us looking at the other. He still holds my hand.

"Well, goodnight." I murmur. He looks at me for a second, then moves his face closer.

"Goodnight, Annie" he whispers, his face so close that if I stepped forward our lips would be pressing against one another. He steps closer, and we're kissing like never before. This kiss speaks of desperation, pain, sadness. It's soft and warm, gentle. It doesn't last long, and Finnick's gone as soon as it ends.

I lean against my door, knees weak. _That's three times I've kissed Finnick Odair._

* * *

I wake the next morning to Mags grinning over me, her toothy grin a welcome sight. She gets me up, forces clothes over my head, shoves some food in my mouth and drags me outside before I've even brushed my hair.

I guess we've arrived.

Tommin is already dressed (and his hair is brushed!), waiting for me in the dining car. He smiles at me and says good morning and I smile back and reply. Finnick, who is standing next to Tommin, shoots me a look. I can't quite tell what it means. Is he not happy that I smiled at Tommin and said good morning? It's only polite that I do.

Mags tells us to stand up tall and smile when we pull in, for the cameras. We can't afford to look weak, especially me. I shiver when I think of the girl from 2 watching me get off the train looking weak. I lift my chin and plaster a smile on my face. I got pretty good at wearing fake smiles after Marcin died.

I fiddle with Marcin's necklace nervously, waiting for the doors to open. Finnick stills my fingers. "Don't." He whispers, and I drop my hands to my sides.

Suddenly I'm nervous; I think I might be sick. I don't want the train doors to open. _Don't open don't open don't open don't open don't-_

The doors open.

* * *

Everything was a blur. The train station, the opening ceremonies, President Snow's speech, Mags and Finnick whisking us back to our rooms on level 4, being undressed and scrubbed. I remember flashes, cameras popping everywhere, distorted faces chanting my name, Finnick steadying me as I wobble. President Snow's face, waves of brightly coloured people, faces of the other Tributes.

My stylist, Elida, has hair of shimmering gold with tiny silver specks (which I suspect are supposed to represent stars) peeping in and out of her glittering strands. She has tiny, tiny black stars tattooed all over her skin, much like the freckles that dust mine. She was nice enough, a bit giggly, but nice to me. She made me look beautiful, like a goddess of the sea. My hair was shiny and wet looking, with dark sapphires and green jewels braided through the curls. She dressed me in a (skimpy) dark green and blue swirly dress that looked like the ocean under a dark sky. Small patches of silver flashed in the folds of the dress, like fish or moon beams, I couldn't decide which. My body was dusted with a faint blue shimmery powder, so I looked as if I had just emerged from the ocean. My eyes were outlined in black, and painted with shimmery blue paint (which just made my eyes POP! Elida said).

Finnick certainly liked the effect. His eyes just about burst out of his head, before he regained control of his face and smiled at me and said "you look lovely". Of course, I blushed red as sunburn.

Tommin was dressed sort of similarly; he had a blue/green cape and a silver body suit. He held a trident in his hands and his blond hair was slicked back. He grins at me, "Lookin' good, Cresta!" Finnick glared at him and stalked off.

I don't remember much of the opening ceremony. The girls from 1 and 2 were dressed in even littler clothing then I was! The small boy from 7 was dwarfed next to the huge girl. The boy from 11, with the creepy glint in his eye, he stared at me. It scared me.

The boy from 12, Atiyan, he didn't look so dirty, even though he was dressed as a coal covered miner. But his eyes, his strange empty eyes, bugged me all through the ceremony, until I saw his district partner lead him down from the chariot, and I realised, with utmost horror, that the poor boy was blind.

Blind! He was utterly blind and in the Huger Games. Poor boy wouldn't last a minute. I felt a horrible overwhelming rage at eh Capitol then. What kind of sick government send a completely blind boy to fight for his life? Against other _children_? I felt like jumping out of my chariot and punching President Snow in the middle of his sick, _sick_, face. But of course I didn't. Finnick caught my eye and gave me a sympathetic look and jerked his head in Atiyan's direction, and scowled at President Snow. I felt better knowing he felt the same.

* * *

I didn't sleep well that night. I tossed and turned and had nightmares about the Arena, and poor Atiyan and the bot from 7 being killed the minute we could move. I think I screamed a bit in my sleep, because Finnick gave me worried looks at breakfast. I ignore him and try to eat. He grabs my hand under the table and rubs his thumb over it. It soothes me. Any touch from him makes me feel instantly better. I can't explain it, he just make me feel better.

Tommin and I wear matching black pants and a shirt, with large number 4's written on the backs. Mags and Finnick discuss strategy. They decide our best bet is to form a Career alliance with the other Career's (surprise, surprise). When has District 4 never been a part of the Career Alliance? We _are_ Career's. Even if I don't want to be.

Tommin and I head down to the training centre. I feel sicker and sicker as the lift descends.

"Don't worry, Annie. I'll do the talking" Tommin whispers to me. I feel grateful.

The lift doors open. The other Careers are already here. They descend upon us. I think I nearly faint.


End file.
